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MMI remembers Vietnam 50 years later

Alvin Benn, Special to the Advertiser
Published 4:13 p.m. CT Oct. 28, 2016

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Retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Berry helps to unveil a temporary marker honoring American troops who served in Vietnam during a ceremony Friday at Marion Military Institute.(Photo: Alvin Benn/Special to the Advertiser)Buy Photo

MARION – The war in Vietnam is being remembered 50 years after it started and the pain of losing more than 58,000 troops is still fresh in many American minds, Marion Military Institute’s leader said Friday.

“This war is still, today, a scar on our national conscience because it became central to what was a very turbulent time within our country’s own border,” said retired Marine Col. David Mollahan, who is MMI’s president.

A large audience of veterans, many of whom haven’t forgotten their own Vietnam War experiences, listened intently to every word as Mollahan became a history teacher for the day.

The program held outside the Alabama Military Hall of Honor on MMI’s campus, would normally involve induction of soldiers into the hall, but Friday was different.

Programs distributed to the crowd had a headline that read: “Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Ceremony and Mollahan" kept to the meaning of the moment.

His focus remained on the war, its aftermath, the men and women who served and the nightmares that many still have today.

Although some critics still contend America suffered irreparable harm to its “leader of the free world reputation” as a result of the way the war was fought, Mollahan painted a different picture during his speech.

“They were never defeated in Vietnam,” said the colonel, referring to the U.S. troops who fought there. “They never lost a battle of any consequence (and) from a military standpoint, it was an almost unprecedented performance.”

One of the main reasons for going to war in Vietnam was the “Domino Theory” espoused by U.S. officials that it was the only way to avoid the complete takeover of Southeast Asia by Communists.

Without America’s commitment to that theory, Mollahan said, “many consider it likely that Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits south of Singapore, a place of great strategic importance to the free world.”

As a result of America’s course of action in Vietnam, Mollahan said it proved to be “a noble cause and something worthy of the great sacrifice of the 58,315 Americans killed in action.”

“The sacrifice was not in vain and is a sacrifice we must never forget,” said the former Marine who was familiar with hostile situations during his active duty career in the Corps.

Listening to Mollahan from seats near where he spoke was retired Army Lt. Col. Jerry Lewis who flew numerous support missions in Vietnam.

He indicated that he flew so many of them that he lost count and focused on the mission of the day and not how many times he climbed into the cockpit of his aircraft.

“Being here today is a very humbling experience for me,” said Lewis, who piloted reconnaissance planes as well as assault helicopters and returned home with a Distinguished Flying Cross, among other decorations.

A former professor of military science during his teaching days at MMI, Lewis said he is concerned that some young Americans today “seem to have lost their sense of patriotism.”

What angers him most of all today however is the continuing controversy over reenlistment bonuses paid to California National Guard troops now being pressured to repay them.

“It’s ridiculous what is being asked of them,” Lewis said. “Those who got the bonuses and went into war zones to serve their country shouldn’t have to repay them.”

As far as Lewis is concerned, the government should pay back the bonuses to those who have already repaid them.